“I first launched my Patreon page as a way to fund the content that we were putting out on a weekly basis. Now, we use Patreon as a membership program to not only fund content, but to hold local events and give supporters exclusive perks.”

“Patreon not only changed my life, but changed the lives of the people I employ, the 19 contractors and the full-time employees. Because of them, I’m able now to grow a digital media company and help foster this type of creation.”

“Creating stuff online is still pretty new and the world hasn’t really figured out a good business model to make it sustainable. Patreon is the best solution to this problem that we’ve come across — a simple way for the people who really want to help support Wait But Why to do so.”

“Joining Patreon was the single best career move I’ve ever made. We started a production company, got new equipment and built a home studio all in the last six months, and this is just the beginning. I’m truly beholden to nobody, well except my dog, and that’s really the greatest gift you can get as a content creator.”

Find creators you know on Patreon.

Get some questions answered

Is Patreon right for what I create?

Patreon powers membership businesses for a huge variety of creators: podcasters, video creators, musicians, illustrators, webcomics, bloggers, game streamers, and so many more that don't fit into any of those categories. If you create something and you have an established audience that loves it, Patreon is most likely for you. Check our Community Guidelines if you're wondering whether your content is allowed.

How much work is Patreon? How much time should I expect to commit?

You can design your membership business in a way that works for you and your fans. The time commitment can vary depending on the kinds of benefits you want to offer, and what your fans will find value in. Patreon gives you tools to provide benefits your patrons will love while still being easy for you to manage.

What will my fans think? I don't want to "ask for money."

When you offer a membership for your most passionate fans, you're not asking for donations. In fact, you're not "asking for money" at all. You're inviting them to be part of something exciting that gives them unique benefits they want, like additional access, exclusivity, and engaging experiences. Your true fans love what you do! They want more involvement and will be happy to pay for it.

Wait, does Patreon own my content?

Nope! Your content is 100% yours, unless a record label or studio owns part of it, in which case it's partly theirs too, but it's definitely not Patreon's — not even a little.

Am I allowed to earn money from other income sources while using Patreon?

Absolutely. Still want to run ads, do brand deals, or work with sponsors? Cool with us.

What does Patreon do for creators outside of processing payments?

Patreon is a robust membership platform that helps you turn your most passionate fans into paying patrons, own and nurture the relationship with them, and deliver unique, ongoing value that delights them. Not only do we process recurring payments from your patrons, but we also retry when a card is declined, manage chargebacks and fight fraud, and provide customer support to patrons on your behalf. We offer tools to make it easy to manage your patron information and analytics to help you understand and grow your business. We do all this alongside world class, creator-friendly human support to guide creators along the way.

How is Patreon different from other platforms offering membership subscriptions?

Let us count the ways. Patreon was founded by a musician to help other creators. Our staff is made up of many creators, and we're committed to our mission of funding the creative class.

We don't sell ads. We optimize for your earnings, not for eyeballs or traffic. That means no algorithms. You always come first.

On Patreon, you own your audience. You get your patrons' email addresses and can take them with you should you choose to leave Patreon. They're your fans, not ours. In fact, you don't have to keep your fans on Patreon. With our API, we play nice with the rest of the web and with other services. Want to send your patrons an email with MailChimp? Awesome. Want to have exclusive content for your patrons on Wordpress or your own website? Again, totally cool with us. Other platforms want to keep your fans on their websites so that they can turn those eyeballs into ad dollars. That's not our business model, so we allow you to bring, reward, and hang with your patrons anywhere you want.

Our product is reliable, secure, has rock-solid payments and transparent pricing. We deliver unusually compassionate human support, with creator-first policies and great guidance so that creators can count on us to consistently deliver on our promise of being creator-first.

Did I mention that we have a creator success team? This is true -- we have a team, literally called "Creator Success." They exist to help you grow your membership.

Lastly, our business depends solely on creators succeeding. We're literally incentivized, from a revenue perspective, to make sure our creators are making money and successful. That allows us to be truly creator first, from products, to revenue, to tough strategic choices -- we always choose creators.

Once I launch my membership, am I allowed to make changes later?

Yes! Most creators on Patreon revise their membership tiers and benefits regularly. We encourage you to try things, see how they work for you, and then try more new things. If you talk to your fans and patrons and bring them along for the ride, they will be excited about the changes.